Oct. 11, 2007 SDF Virtual Worlds 4

On October 10th and 11th 2007 in San Jose, SDForum participated in the Virtual Worlds 2007 Conference and Expo. Here are my final thoughts on the event.

I have to rethink what a virtual experience is. A phone call can be a virtual experience if you think about it. You are talking to someone who isn’t physically there. Their voice is recreated electronically. Videoconferencing is not that much more of a step. Maneuvering around a city with Google Maps, Virtual Earth or Planet 9 with a mouse doesn’t seem that odd anymore.

For some reason putting on headgear and creating an avatar still seemed like a big step. There has to be some obvious need to do this, like conducting business. Considering all the contacts I now have in virtual worlds, that tipping point is getting close. The fact that reporters from business and entertainment showed up for the same event says that a convergence is near. (Picture below: SDForum audience on Investing in Virtual Worlds)

What interested me most? I still think that Forterra has a great real world application that we can use today. I can see this a great way to train people. (Picture below: Laura Kusumoto and John Burwell)

The Seventh Sun newspaper is ironic and informative at the same time. Think about it. People are not reading real newspapers because they are “in world” reading virtual newspapers. (Picture below: Claire Condra and Greg Campbell)

If I look at virtual reality as a new canvas it is not so intimidating. I will master it the same way I mastered painting and photography. When the tools improve I will create my art in a new medium.